


it keeps raining here

by orphan_account



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Nonbinary Character, Pregnancy, Trans Character, this au no one wanted
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-09
Updated: 2016-08-09
Packaged: 2018-08-07 14:18:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7718062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Even when Keith thinks that the dark sky is simply going to open up and swallow him whole, it keeps raining.</p>
            </blockquote>





	it keeps raining here

**Author's Note:**

> I'm really sorry for a lot of points in the work, I feel I really did no justice to actual mothers who struggle through unplanned pregnancies similar to the one I placed Keith in and for that I'm extremely sorry. After finishing the major parts, I didn't know how to write in the pivotal moments for Keith and the baby. This left the entire story like snippets of both Keith and Lance's lives. I hope you guys enjoy this!
> 
> EDITS: changed some things added and added new parts.

  
Lance is looking at him with a burning malice that Keith didn't think he could. His lips are curled back in a snarl and Keith's heart is dropping because he doesn't know how this all went wrong, really.

"You had him over after this?" Lance is yelling over Keith's thoughts. "I thought you were at least smarter not to do it in my fucking room!"

"Lance! He wasn't doing any-" Shiro attempts to clarify, only to be abruptly cut off by Lance.

"I don't even want to hear it from you!" He yells, his voice shrilling in a way that makes Keith flinch and recoil.

Then, Lance turns back to Keith, eyes wide and furious. The deep blue flecked with green and brown around the edge. The eyes that hid nothing from Keith, they were simply little windows into Lance. They looked at him like he had done all the wrong in the world.

Everything was falling apart and Keith had his nightclothes he kept at Lance's dorm thrust into his arms as he was being forcibly pushed out the door.

"Lance, I'd never-"

"I never thought that you , of all people would be the _whore_ to cheat on me." Were his final words.

Keith felt like everything was breaking inside of him as Shiro ushered him away.

\--

Keith feels small and broken under the grey and white streaked sky. He stares and tries to breathe through his dry sobs. The rain falls almost in place of the tears he doesn't shed, can't shed, as they sit heavy on the brim of his eyelid. Keith feels cold and alone for the first time in a very long time. He can feel the panic sinking into his entire being as he attempts to count the droplets crashing into him before its all too much. All he knows know is the slick reflection of a distorted world in the pavement and the cold taste of rejection on his chest. He tries not to cry. Really. He does. But the pain in his chest is too much for him and the fat, hot tears come rolling down his cheeks as a broken sob is pushed out of his numb throat. He sees Lance. He sees himself and Lance and now-.

Even when Keith thinks that the dark sky is simply going to open up and swallow him whole, it keeps raining.

\--

He knew it had been a stupid idea, but at the time he saw nothing wrong. Of course, of-fucking-course.

The bright pink of the test stared back at him. All too happy and cheerful for the life- altering news he was receiving.

He was only nineteen.

He thought they were being safe.

How was he going to be able to do this?

The rain pelted against the bathroom window like gunshots in the quiet of the room. Each one was another straight for his chest.

Suddenly, it felt like the weight of the world was falling on his shoulders. Keith slumped, then fell forward, barely able to catch himself as his entire head throbbed. It only felt like a just time to his body for another bout of nausea to slam into him. His knees cracked hard against the tile as he threw up into the toilet, tears streaming down his face from sadness and pain. The acid in his bile was something that he had become quite acquainted with in the past week. He dreaded to name it what it really was. This wasn't a stomach bug. Wasn't the flu. Wasn't some other illness that Keith would have very much preferred over this.

This was morning sickness.

\--

It didn't take long for Lance to realize he fucked up big time. It did, however, take two months before he went back to Shiro.

_"Hijo," his mamá had said, "Keith was the best person you had ever brought home. You actually looked happy with him, cariño. He looked at you like you were his world, como él vivó para tú. He would never, ever hurt you like that, chiquito, and you know it."_

_Lance felt ashamed because really, looking back to last month, he should have just listened, even one look at Keith's hurt and sadness would have told him enough. He was such an idiot, but would Keith forgive him? Dios mío, he called Keith a whore._

_He wouldn't be surprised if Keith didn't want to see him, maybe that's why he wasn't around the campus. Maybe he was trying to avoid Lance because of how much of a dick he'd been._

_María smacked him upside the head, "Keith is as faithful as a damn puppy and you have the nerve to think that he'd cheat!"_

_Cleo was nodding to the eldest sibling's words, standing next to a disappointed Adrian. Small Josephine was clinging to her older brothers pant leg while chanting 'dummy Lance' over and over._

Even his father shook his head at him, when he heard what happened. That small sign of disappointment in Lance spoke louder than any of the words his family could say.

The past month had been torture without Keith. He knew he needed to fix this, but Lance was still unmotivated and scared to take action.

That wasn't his tipping point, what was happened to be when Lance came back from visiting his family over break only to find that Keith hadn't simply left Lance's side- he'd also left school.

Lance raised his hand up to knock on Shiro's door, the cold air numbing his hand and making sharp pain crawl up his arm as he rapped on the metal door.

It wasn't late, but the weather lately had been everywhere. It was just after summer break and Lance was dressed ready for winter.

There was shuffling on the other side of the door, then a long amount of silence.

Lance was ready to knock on the door again when it swung open. Shiro stood, with an uncharacteristic scowl on his face. He gruffly asked Lance to come in, even if he was angry, Shiro was a primarily nice person. He was also probably not excited to let out the heat of his warm dorm.

"So," he drawled slowly, "what do you want, La-"

"I'm so sorry!" He jumbled, "Shiro, I am so, so sorry and you didn't deserve any of what I said to you and treated you because I was being such a dick to you and you didn't even do anything to warrant it and I'm so, so sorry. I was angry and I assumed things that I shouldn't have and I hurt you. I'm so sorry."

He looked taken back, for the most part. Surprise evident on his face, before it melted down to some sort of happiness. Like he was conflicted over the situation, but still overjoyed Lance actually came to talk to him and apologize. He smiled a little, his face twitching a bit as he fought to keep it down. Shiro pulled Lance into a tight hold.

"Thank you," he whispered, "and I forgive you, Lance. I really was starting to miss you, you know?"

Relief washed over Lance, and he struggled to fight back small tears at how much of a weight that was off of him. He missed Shiro too. He really did. But Keith-

Lance pulled back, "Shiro, is Keith here? Do you know if he's alright?"

He tried to stay calm, but no one had seen Keith Kogane in the past months.

Shiro's happiness fell fast from his face, his eyes followed the lines of the hardwood floor instead. Pointedly not looking at him, but effectively making an answer for himself.

"No," he spoke after a few beats, "he moved out, said he had to figure some stuff out for now."

"Has he told you where he went?" Lance asked, knowing his answer before the sting of it could even meet him.

"He hasn't spoken to me since he left. I'm sorry."

\--

His stomach looked swollen, but only slightly. It wasn't horrible, but still noticeable with any shirt he had. Instead, he stuck to sweatshirts,like the ones that were grey with a faded, crackling blue logo of a lion and no longer smelled of Lance. He isn't sure if it's more or less comforting like that. He had almost thrown it away at one point, before promptly taking out of the garbage and washing it.

He still remembers how Lance smelt, though. He has one of his tacky, ten-dollar bottles of cologne collecting dust on a shelf.

He stares at it, sometimes, when he can't fall asleep because he feels so alone without Lance or the white noise of the rain, and thinks about spraying it on the sweatshirts, on the pillows, on something he could curl up in so he doesn't feel so awful.

Instead, he gently rubs the growing lump in his stomach and thinks of baby names until he falls asleep.

\--

Keith had liked Rosa, she was a hardy and strong-willed woman that knew how to take care of herself and everything around her. And Rosa, she immediately loved Keith.

For the first time ever, Keith felt he had some semblance of a home by being with the McClaines.

\--

Coran was someone Keith had met at the convenience store he worked late shifts at. Even if the shifts at night were more likely to have hold ups, they pay enough for Keith to afford the shabby apartment he's in.

But- Coran. He was an older man, around his forties, who always came to the store at eleven at night. He got off of work late and had to drive back all the way from the city.

As the months wore on, Keith showed more and more in his newly-tight uniform, and Coran had taken an interest in that aspect of Keith's life. Like now, how he asked simple questions, but they all held an underplaying concern that was too palpable to Keith.

"How old are you?" He asked gently, one day, eyeing Keith with this look Keith could only describe as fatherly. Tender and warm and filled with a little bit of disappointment and pride. Coran's eyes always had a way of displaying anything he felt, Keith found that comforting.

"I'm going to be twenty, soon." Keith answered slowly, "by then, I should have…"

Keith drawls off, his hand rubbing the cloth above his stomach in almost a reflex. Coran looks at him almost… sad, pitying. Keith hated being pitied, usually, but now he felt as though it was the one thing he needed. Someone who could just feel bad for what Keith's going through without judgement.

"You're only nineteen?" Coran asked sadly. "You have so much ahead of you, Keith."

The weight of his situation dragged his body down, but he still managed to hold himself up. Yes, Keith _had_ so much ahead of him, but that was gone. He _was_ going to work a steady job that he wouldn't mind doing because it paid the bills and he could finally help people. He _was_ going to get an apartment with Lance and they were going to settle down by the city. Lance and he would get a cat because they both have wanted pets. Lance and he _had_ a future, but that was all before this. Before he had to become a parent and worked odd jobs because he hasn't finished getting his online degree and probably wouldn't until it's too late to be put into use.

"I did," Keith sighs, and his body is still too much for him to hold up under the weight of it all, but he manages. He does.

He doesn't look up to see the contemplative look on Coran's face before he says goodbye.

\--

The questions have been getting more personal now.

"What are you going to do when you have the baby?" Coran looks right at Keith, and the bluntness makes him flinch.

"I… I'm not sure, myself." Really, Keith is struggling to accept he idea that this was reality. This was all happening. He was going to have a child and he was going to have to care for it and provide for it until it was no longer a child.

Coran nods slowly, in that way that Keith always imagined fathers would do when their children did something disappointing.

"I have… a daughter. Her name is Allura." Keith nods to him speaking as he rings up the next customer. "She- I told her a bit about you and you wanna know what she said?" Coran smiled fondly.

Keith bid the costumer goodbye and looked up at Coran expectantly. His hand automatically went to rest on the top of the round bump of his stomach.

"She asked, 'Daddy, why are you leaving him alone when you know we could help?' She said, 'Daddy, lets help them. The baby would be so cute.'"

Keith laughed by the end of the statement. "Really, cute?"

"Don't doubt it, when they're born, you'll see all the good in the world." Coran spoke softly , as if recalling a distant memory. He smiles wide, fatherly and proud, "It helps that the daddy has good genes, too." Coran ruffles Keith's hair, before saying his goodbyes and parting again.

Keith doesn't immediately think of himself when he hears "good genes". He thinks of Lance, with his mocha skin and blue eyes and dazzling smile. Thinks of his loud, full laugh and his soft, low voice when he spoke in Spanish.

This time, the weight of he world really does pull Keith down, and he sits on the floor, crying, until he hears a customer walk through the doors.

\--

Each meeting with the doctors at the Planned Parenthood leaves Keith hopeful. The sonograms gift him small, grainy images of the life he holds within him. The life he and Lance had made.

They ask, frequently, where the father is. Sometimes Keith just stays silent, other times Keith makes up some excuse.

He cries when he finally hears the baby's heartbeat. The strong, steady thrum, that's not at all unlike her father. The silent sobs that wrack him feel comforted by the thrum of his baby's heart. A nurse tries to rub his back, her hand calloused and warm like Lance's. The illusion that Keith still has everything helps him pull through.

\--

He goes to the doctors again, the young nurse is handing him another photo after another successful check up.

"Would you like to know the gender, Mr. Kogane?"

There's a steady drizzle outside the facility and Keith smiles, Lance had always wanted a baby girl.

\--

Keith stares at himself in the mirror. Hard and analytically, reminiscent of Pidge when they found an interesting piece of electronics.

The mixed guilt of missing Pidge and walking out of their life and feeling so utterly disgusted and wronged by himself, hurts. It hurts like daggers in his chest. And it hurts his raw throat as he sobs, viciously pulling at the fat of his arms and thighs and cheeks before gently cradling his stomach.

He feels so alone.

He thinks that, but- there's a contact in his phone that tells him otherwise.

\--

The first meeting at Coran's house is to gauge how Allura is going to feel.

Keith hobbles around their large home, he's nearly seven and a half months along now and moving has become such a chore, as Allura tugs him by the wrist eagerly. She's bright and open and warm, like Coran, but is distinctly her own kind of person. She huffs when her fathers ties to tell her that Keith can't really move, saying that he's been working for this long into it, he can last a tour of the house. Allura was something amazing and bright, and Keith wondered what the little human he would bring into the world would be like. He hoped they would be something like Allura. Filled with bright wonder and happiness at the littlest of things.

Keith felt like a balloon trying to fit down the damned hallway that led to the garage and his legs hurt from standing all day and he was tired, but he didn't complain once.

"This," she says proudly at one point, "is my beta fish. His name is Bjorn."

"Really?" Keith chuckled softly, "Why's that?"

"Because it sounds funny." She beams. Keith laughs as if she's said the most brilliant thing he's ever heard. Bjorn paces in his tank, red and blue swirling in his tail like a sunset on the ocean.

After Allura declares the tour over, Coran corrals the two of them into the living room. Where there is a small tray of cookies that Allura pounces upon. Keith sits down and the girl follows suite, worming herself close to Keith's warmth in the slightly chilly room. Even the furniture seems cold, mostly shiny metal and glass and pristine mirrors and grey walls. Despite it, Keith felt comfortable in the space, welcomed.

"So, now that you've got the run-down of the place." Coran smirks something jokingly and continues, "I would like to bring up arrangements for where you'd be sleeping what you wouldn't be able to do and the amount of studying you'll be doing."

The rest is mostly Coran speaking on and on about the house rules for fathers-to-be. Keith can't move around a lot after this month, so Coran is expecting him to stay home from work and rest. Keith will clean up, only after himself (he gives a stern look at Allura while saying this) and will watch Allura when Coran isn't home instead of getting a sitter. Keith is allowed to go anywhere in the house, except Coran and Allura's room, unless he is invited. He isn't allowed to have parties, drink, do inappropriate things in the house while he is pregnant, and such.

"That all is," Coran says patiently, "if you want to stay. You're a free person, Keith. The choices you make are all yours. Don't feel pressured. The only thing I ask is that, if you stay, you adhere to those rules."

Keith agrees to them all. Enthusiastically thanking Coran for the offer and ensuring him that Keith would do anything he could to help. And when he finishes saying so, Allura pulls him into a tight embrace and whispered "Welcome home" into the round of his stomach.

The weight of the world doesn't crash down on him, but it definitely crumbles slightly. Somehow that bit is enough for his eyes to tear up and cloud over as he hold Allura as tightly as he can.

\--

It's not even a month into living at the Altea household when Coran and Allura insist that he not work anymore.

It hurts for Keith to move too fast at times, and his bloated, heavy belly slows him down considerably. He can't move around the way he used to at the store to work as efficiently, but it still hurts to become completely dependent on them.

Keith doesn't give in for another week, but then Coran begins supplying the pantry with all the weird food Keith wants to eat and Allura more often lays with him on the couch to watch his favorite shows. It becomes too much of a hassle finding reasons to leave home and go to work in his last month. And so, he goes on a paternity leave. Code for, Keith quit, but the manager welcomed him back to work after he had the child.

He feels safe and happy the day when he quits, and Allura cuddles him and giggles even more happily about things as they watch paranormal channels into the night.

\--

Sometimes, Keith likes to think back to Rosa, Lance's mother. He likes to think about how wonderfully warm and accepting she was of Keith. How every time Keith walked into the McClain home he was greeted with a tight, loving embrace and a kiss on the forehead. How Rosa would put him to work in the kitchen before or after meals to help with prep or clean up. How the full home was so happy to have Keith there that it was nearly overwhelming. There was never a quiet moment for Keith when he went. Lance's father would invite him to watch some telenovela while sipping on a can of cola. His sisters loved to play with Keith's hair and had many times braided, or simply brushed it, for hours. How his brothers would make a show of one-upping Lance in things in front of Keith, just to see the flustered expressions Lance would make. How, when they all went to bed, Lance and Keith would sleep in a room painted shades of blue that would drip inky grey and black in the night. How they would listen to the rain that would sometimes patter on the window or would speak so quietly, they could hardly hear their own answers.

Keith wishes he could go back to summer vacation, when Lance took him all the way down to El Paso to visit.

He wishes he could go back to Lance.

\--

Keith and Allura are sitting on the couch, curled up and eating an ice-cream that the logical side of Keith knows is too sugary for this late at night. The other side of Keith is simply overriding it by indulging in how good the cotton candy flavor is and how the pop rocks in it fizzle on his tongue.

Allura is looking curiously at him when the commercial comes up on the telenovela she and Keith are watching (with subtitles, because Keith no longer has Mr. McClain to translate for him).

"Keith?" Her small hand finds his stomach and rubs small circles into it.

"Yes, princess?" He, in turn, raises a hand to run gently through her long blonde-white hair.

"Have you thought of what you want to name the baby?"

Keith nods a little, "I have a few names I like..."

"Like what?"

"Allura," he smiles broadly, looking into her sparkling blue eyes.

"No," she giggles, "then we'd get confused with eachother."

"Well, then, I like some other names, too. Like Coran, Bibiana, Beatrice, Troye, Conner, and …Lance."

Allura thinks it over slowly, "Name it Beatrice."

"What if it's a boy?" Keith laughs.

"Beatrice is a good name for a boy too. Name it that either way."

"Whatever you say, princess."

The commercial ends and they slip back into silence and the show picks up on a pair of lovers arguing in fast spoken Spanish.

\--

The cramps aren't something Keith is worried about at first, he simply thinks that he was digesting the odd combinations of food he was eating the previous day.

When he's sitting at the kitchen table, discussing with Coran the abstract and deranged nature of the common core Allura had been subjected to the other day, he stops short. Then he nearly cries out of embarrassment, because as he's speaking to Coran, his body lets loose a trickle of water that he can't hold in.

Keith thinks that he peed himself in front of Coran, and the idea of such a thing has him stiff and humiliated. The actual event? So much more worse. The reality is that his entire body is slightly off kilter with the little life form in Keith. Maybe he should have expected something like this would happen. Keith's body, as of late, has been actively working against him. He needs to pee every twenty minuets, feels as if he's going to die of back pain every hour, and only god knows what other problems Keith's been over looking because he's felt dysphoric to the point of almost throwing up.

It isn't until he shakily tells Coran that he needs to use the bathroom does he know what's happening.

He looks at his water-soaked thighs and he realizes quickly that he knows what's going on and it has nothing to do with his pea-sized bladder.

His water broke.

\--

It's so much pain. So much pain because he refused the damn cesarian because he didn't like the idea of being cut open and- gods was it too late to get it done now? Keith was in so much pain, screaming his lungs sore until it becomes too much for him to do more than shake and the doctor tells him to push and Keith wants to yell that he's been pushing for what felt like an hour.

He just wants Lance there, holding his hand and telling him it'll all be alright, that he's doing great, not some nurse he doesn't even know-

It hurts. It hurts so bad, so bad. And all Keith can think is 'get it out, get it out, please get it out now.'

\--

Coran was right- when you hold your baby, everything is right in the world.

Keith is so amazed, so damn amazed at this beautiful little person in his arms. She's whining and wriggling and making little huffs of displeasure at the harshness of the world she was brought into.

She's got skin that's a shade darker than Keith's and a full head of dark brown, curly hair. She has Keith's nose and Lance's wide, curious eyes. And his pout, Keith learns as he tickles the side of her neck tentatively.

"What's her name?" A nurse asks, juggling a piece of paper, and a towel in one hand as she's poised to write.

"Her name..." Keith thinks for a moment, "is Beatrice Rosa Kogane."

"Well," she smiles fondly, leaning in with the towel to clean the baby a little better, "welcome to the world, Beatrice."

The rain is calming outside the windows of the hospital room Keith's in and it gently lulls Beatrice to sleep.

\--

It's been and year and Lance isn't sure how he got by.

Truthfully, he isn't even sure how he gets up every morning and smiles brightly before searching town for any sign of Keith Kogane.

Every since he left, it's been a desperate search for Keith. Lance didn't even eat some days because someone around campus heard from a friend that they saw Keith and Lance was immediately there, looking for him.

Lance would do anything to get Keith back. He would crawl on his hands and knees and beg for Keith's forgiveness everyday. He would do at thing for Keith. And now- Keith was gone.

Keith cut off all ties. He hasn't contacted Pidge, or Hunk, or even Shiro.

It's almost as if Keith was trying to prove to Lance that truly nothing had happened between him and Shiro by cutting the older man off completely.

Shiro was stricken. He was almost as distraught as Lance was. Scared that Keith was out there, unable to support himself with-

Shiro always stopped speaking there. Never said out loud what Keith was "with". Why it would inhibit Keith from keeping himself afloat or anything. Shiro hadn't even told Lance what happened that night before Lance found Keith and Shiro curled up and huddled in all the blankets in his dorm.

This was Lance's last year in college, the degree, which was supposed to be a four-year, was held back for complications in the system. It was costing a lot to do this last year since he wasn't on a full-ride like his friends have been. He kept worrying. What if Keith came back only to find that Lance was gone? Hunk said he'd keep a watch out in case anything like that happened. What if Keith came back to the neighborhood expecting to see Lance around? Pidge reminded him that he was only moving a town closer to the city for work. What if-? Shiro had continuously told him that he needed to stop worrying and focus on his own life for a little bit. Lance needed to leave the searching to someone else for now. It didn't mean that they gave up, it just meant that Lance needed a brake.

It was hard for Lance to take a break when all he saw was a mullet in the crowd on his way to work. He saw it for a flash, before getting lost in the crowd. It was all he needed. Lance bolted through the swarm of people and when he rounded the corner-

Nothing. No mullets. No perfect eyes looking at Lance in that way that told him everything in the world was okay as he yelled Keith's name.

Lance was only late to work by a minute that day.

\--

Lance was loyal to the company, a good consultant for creative and financial aspects of their campaign ads. He was, of course the advisor for such, so it only made sense that he worked well. Apparently, the higher ups thought that it was exceptional, and by the time a year had passed since he had joined, he was promoted. His own office, the pride of being above his coworkers, higher pay. The works.

It all tasted bittersweet to Lance, though. He wanted to go home and tell Keith about the achievements he made. Wanted to go out to the jeweler and finally get that ring he could afford now. Wanted to give it to Keith. See his worry lines melt away with joy. Wanted it all so bad.

Lance did get the ring. He kept it in the box and tucked in a drawer with the few shirts he had left of Keith's. When Lance found him again, he would win Keith back for sure.

The idea sounded numb, though, in face of the fact that it's now been years. Two whole years without Keith. Everything was getting better, but it still wasn't right without him.

Shiro was now in his last year of getting that doctorate, Pidge had graduated and was working for Google, of all things, and Hunk was now a head chef at Lance's new favorite restaurant.

Which is where they would meet up for dinner to celebrate Lance getting that promotion. It was an authentic Hawaiian cuisine restaurant. Owned by wonderful Hawaiian natives who decided that simply retiring in Seattle was boring, and opening up a diner with all their hometown favorites was better. They were right, a lot of people thought they were too. Possibly the best food in the city, by far. Completely unbiased opinion from Lance.

He was sitting in a booth across from Shiro and Pidge, who was tucked under the other's arm. (After graduating, Lance had helped to pull a few strings to get his emotionally constipated friend with his crush. Worked out great.) they were laughing about something Lance had done in the office a while ago that he thought was going to get him fired, for sure.

"And then," Lance was laughing through his words, "Tiny turns around and he says, 'Not these pants, they're Mr. Jay's!' Before dropping and rolling on the floor trying to stop the fire!"

"They were- haha- the- the boss'?" Shiro exclaims.

Lances head goes back in laughter as he tries to nod. His shoulders are shaking with the giggles he can't keep in. Pidge's snorts are too hard to keep down and they only cause Lance to laugh more.

Hunk walks to the table with his arms full of plates. "Hey, what's so funny?" He grins wide and he sets down the food.

Lance had ordered his usual. A "sweet buns", a hotdog surrounded by tooth rotting, pineapple sweetness that's too delicious not to get every time.

Pidge and Shiro are sharing a large plate of fish, roasted and charred nicely. Lance sees Pidge nearly drools in excitement before digging in.

"I was telling them about when I set Tiny's pants on fire, I mean my boss' pants on fire." Lance smirks as Hunk starts cackling at the memory of the story.

"Ooh, yeah, ha! That was a good one," Hunk's smile seemed a little strained, awkward almost.

Lance smirk fell, "What's up, dude?"

Hunk shakes his head, "It's nothing, really, there's just. Okay, so this little girl at a table I served- she looked just like you."

Shiro stiffened.

"Really? Where?" Pidge cocked their head to the side in interest.

"They just left, actually."

Shiro' eyes dart to the open door and he loses his breath, an older man with ginger hair escorting a little girl with long, blond hair out the door. That's not what makes him scared and excited and a mixture of emotions.

It's the tiny girl in a frilly purple dress that has dark, curly hair and mocha skin and a face that's not reminiscent of Lance but-

Shiro excuses himself to go to the bathroom as Hunk leaves to go back to the kitchen. He looks back at Lance and Pidge completely absorbed in their meals and takes the chance to dart out the door. Hunk had mentioned the child for a reason and Shiro was getting why.

"Wait!" Shiro yells after the small family that's pulling out of their parking spot. The driver doesn't notice, but the little girl with hazel eyes waves at him with a smile that's purely Lance and he feels elated but so distraught because he did it.

He finally found Keith. Or, at least, his daughter. And they were pulling out of the parking lot and driving off.

\--

Keith is working at the convenience store day shift, now. He's still tired and is constantly eager to get back to Beatrice every day, but Keith is happy that he's finally pulling som of his own weight.

Coran comes by to pick him up as his shift ends, Allura and Bea are sitting in the back seat. Keith heart soars as his daughter squeals.

"Daddy!" She giggles.

"Hi, baby girl." Keith leans across the car to place a wet kiss on her cheek.

"Daddy, we went to a really cool place today!" Bea says excitedly as Keith leans over to plant a kiss on a jealous and pouting Allura. She immediately brightens up and grins, pleased.

"Did you, now?" He gives a look at Coran, amused.

"Oh- well there was this Hawaiian place I wanted to try and they were hungry so-" he sheepishly smiles, "sorry, kiddo."

Keith now pouts, "What? You know I love Hawaiian food!"

Coran laughs, "I promise I'll take you too, next time we go, alright?"

Keith smirks victoriously. He hasn't had Hawaiian since he last hung out at Hunk's for a small get-together. He had made something that was drenched in pineapple and roasted flakes of coconut. Whatever it was- Keith sincerely had no idea- he had to try it again.

"How about we go next week, like a little family thing?" Keith suggests.

"You're off on Thursday, right?" Keith nods. "Then we can go on Thursday for lunch."

"How are the prices?"

"Surprisingly well for how much you get. There's a big crowd of younger people, though."

"They're all loud!" Allura complains, "There was one guy who was laughing so obnoxiously."

Bea nods, "Obnockshiously."

Keith laughed at that, "Really?"

Coran groaned, "Yes and their head chef was staring at us like we had grown a second head!"

"What? Why?"

Coran shrugs, "I think it had something to do with Bea. He kept looking at her and this table where the kids were laughing loudly."

"His name is Hunk!" Bea giggled.

Keith's heart stopped. "What..?"

"Yeah," Coran says, "he came over and gave us some new drinks, asked how the food was, and he introduced himself to Bea."

Keith tried to breathe evenly, he tries to hide how much this news is affecting him, but he can't. Not with how closely Coran monitors him all the time.

"What's wrong?" He asks.

"I know- knew Hunk," Keith says quietly.

"Oh..." Coran sighs, "does he know about-?"

Keith shakes his head. Bea is singing something with Allura in the back and laughing so happily. "He doesn't and neither does the father."

Coran nearly slams the car to a stop, "What!"

Keith continues to look at Beatrice, who is looking confused and a little scared. The car is quiet, and Keith can hear the beginning of a storm patter across the car. The small patter of rain is as loud as gunshots.

"Keith," Allura speaks slowly, "he doesn't know?"

Shit. Of course Allura would be all over this, she may only be ten but she's much wiser than her age.

"No, he doesn't."

"Keith." Coran sighs, "you know you have to tell him. It's his responsibility too. He doesn't even know Bea is-"

Coran sighs some more as he drives. They go all the way home through the rain engulfed roads. The car is quiet, save for Bea asking what's wrong. Keith can only reach back and hold her hand in answer, reassure her silently that everything is fine.

\--

Shiro is more insistent on going to the restaurant more often. He says it's just him really liking the food, but it doesn't really add up to Lance. Shiro is acting weirdly excited now. Like he's in on some secret that Lance doesn't know about. Pidge seems easily persuaded with the promise of food, but Lance is starting to pull odder shifts. He comes by as the couple leaves usually. Hunk is eager to give him food, though the restaurant closes early.

Work seems to be weighing him down more often than not now. The higher ups for advertising want Lance to do all of their grunt work and on top of that he has his department to look after and he simply feels like he's being pulled in too many different directions. Hopefully when the seasonal ads are over, the workload will lighten up. Still, halfway through the workweek, Lance is beat, and he decides that using his personal time is absolutely necessary by Thursday. Lance has enough, he can pull a four day weekend and still have two weeks left.

That left him sitting in a booth with Shiro, Pidge, and Hunk (who, despite being on break, spends his time in the restaurant). They're sitting in their usual booth, talking and throwing the little pieces of their napkins at each other.

Lance feels calm, for once this week, and happy hanging out with his friends. Their small group is tight, despite all that's happened. Lance hates to think back to how turbulent and awkward it was for a while, and he's glad that they've stuck around. That he's managed to hold onto them.

He's so lost in his thoughts that he misses the excited smile Shiro gives him halfway through their meals. He's looking at the other man curiously and slightly frightened. An overly happy Shiro is a scary Shiro, if his too-wide smile, hysterical giggles, and saucer-round eyes are anything to go by.

"… What?" Lance asks awkwardly. Pidge isn't paying any mind to him, either, their eyes are wide and watery and completely in awe.

"What?" Lance laughs, "you, uh, see some really good food or something?"

"Lance," Hunk begins, "we have something to tell you..."

"We," Shiro's grin is so very wide and happy, it's creeping Lance out. "We believe we know where Keith is."

Everything stops. Lance's fork clatters out of his hand, his mouth goes dry, and everything goes absolutely still.

Just like it always does at the mention of Keith Kogane.

"What…"

"I know and I think we should go, right now and-" Lance cuts Shiro off.

"No!"

"What?" Pidge snaps.

"I- I am done chasing these little leads and searching the damn streets for him at all time of the day because it hurts too much to have hope and believe that he's going to come back because obviously, he doesn't want to! He doesn't want to… and that- that hurts. So much."

It's like a gaping hole in Lance's chest. Sometimes, Lance pretends that it's not there, that it's normal. After these years, it is. It's as normal as Lance could get.

"Lance," Pidge says sternly, "turn the hell around."

"Pidge..."

"Do it, Lance, don't be an idiot."

He does.

\--

Keith is situating Bea in her seat, setting down a napkin on her lap and taking one of the sweet rolls on the table and buttering it for her as she eagerly waits for it.

"These are really yummy, Daddy!" She exclaims while grabbing the roll from Keith. Then, with her mouth full, she says, "So good."

Keith laughs, "Really? Wow, maybe I should try one? Princess, are you all good?"

Allura is glaring at something across the restaurant, as Keith speaks, she startles and looks up at him and her father.

"Yeah, I'm fine…" sh says slowly.

"What's wrong, princess?" Coran asks.

"There's a guy staring at us and- oh he's walking over!" Allura's glare is back and she looks more like a frustrated puppy than intimidating.

Keith turns to where Allura is looking. Bea turns to see too and ends up partially crawling in Keith's lap.

Everything in the room crawls to a halt along with Keith's heart.

\--

The restaurant is doused in rain, really, it's been raining for a while, but the chatter in the establishment drowns out the noise. Lance's shoes still echo off the hardwood, and there's a smooth melody playing somewhere over the speakers, and Keith's laugh is twinkling and happy. The sin of the restaurant is white noise to Lance when he hears Keith laugh.

Keith turns after the prompting of the little girl in front of him, and when he does, another scrambles into his lap to get a look at Lance as he slowly walks over.

She's small, with Keith's nose and his hair and his curiosity to match. She has the little quirk in her lips that Keith has when he sees something interesting. She has large, hazel eyes and mocha skin and all Lance can think when he sees her is just how perfect she is.

Keith looks different, he's lost a little of his muscle and he seems far more rounded and soft. His hair is still a stupidly endearing ponytail, and he's got the loose strands tucked behind his ears. His face is flushed and his eyes are still dark, but far less stormy than Lance remembers. They quickly cloud over with tears and the small smile he graces Lance with makes them sparkle. Keith is more beautiful than he remembers.

Lance looks different. He lost his slouch and awkward gait, holds himself up more orderly and what Pidge called "adultish". He has a shadow of a beard across his chin that Keith quickly decides he likes. His hair is trimmed differently than last time, it's more professional, shaved short on the sides and long on top. And Lance's eyes, the bright blues that let Keith know anything and everything about Lance, look at him with so much happiness and excitement it almost hurts. He may have changed, but it's still Lance.

"Keith…" Lance's breathing is slightly erratic, but Lance can't help it when he finally found him.

"Lance, I-" Keith starts, his words stumble and trail off when Lance falls on his knees in front of him.

"I am so sorry. I'm so, so, so, so sorry. I miss you and I need you and I need to see your stupid mullet again and your dumb smiles and I need you so much. I was looking for you for so long, Keith. I'm sorry if you didn't want to see me again because I was such a jerk to you, but-"

"Jerk doesn't even come close to it, you giant ass." Keith is doing some weird mix of crying and laughing that makes him sound pathetic. "I missed you, Lance. God, I missed you and I missed you and I wanted to go back so much, but I didn't know what you'd say or what you'd think-"

"I would have thought that you were the greatest person in the world to give me what you did." Lance laughs, but there's tears and snot running down his face and Keith can't find it in himself to be grossed out when Lance reaches forward and pulls their faces close. He can't complain when Lance is back, Lance isn't mad, and Keith didn't fuck it all up. Especially, when they're holding each other so close, and that little gaping hole in his chest feels filled.

"Keith Kogane," Lance says seriously as he pulls back. His face is stern and he's trying his best to hold back his smile, though it's not really working.

"Lance Maximillion McClain," Keith snorts.

"Would you like to go out on a date with me?"

"Hm," Keith purses his lips, hip jutted out and fingers tapping his chin in faux contemplation. Then, it breaks and he smiles watery and happy. "Yes."

Lance smiles so much his face hurts and his eyes sting but he doesn't care because it's Keith and he's finally found home. "I've missed you, so much, baby.

"Hey," Allura whispers all too loudly, "You guys should kiss."

Bea, who has been watching much too keenly, gets all too excited over the idea, "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"

Coran shoots Keith a look of pure exasperation, "I won't say it- actually, I will. I told you so, Keith."

Keith rolls his eyes and groan, "Don't even, Coran."

And as Keith pulls Lance's admittedly gross face into his, Bea and Allura chastise Coran for almost ruining the mood and somewhere in the restaurant, there is laughter and wolf- whistles.

"I missed you, you insufferable idiot."

"I missed you, too, mullet head."

Hunk sniffles and nearly tackles the two to the ground and Pidge jumps into the huddled mess that Shiro is quick to follow.

"You're not allowed to leave us again," Pidge growls out through their sniffles, "got it?"

"Yeah," Keith laughs wetly, "I won't."

"I missed you, Keith," Shiro says slowly, "we all did."

Keith did too.

\--

Coran watches them kiss with a slightly grossed out expression. He rolls his eyes at just how much of teenagers two grown parents could be.

"Bye, dork," Keith whispers as he breaks the kiss, tthough he has no real intention of letting go.

"Bye, cariño." Lance says back as he continues to pepper kisses across Keith's face.

"Papa! I want a kiss too, Daddy, don't hog him!" The excitable five year-old whines.

Lance pulls back from Keith slowly, "Alright, mi cielo, I'll be over, I promise."

Lance leans down and picks up his daughter with ease. He leans back into Keith's heat and comfort as he presses quick kisses across her cheeks. Bea giggles and wraps an arm around each of her fathers.

They may act like teenagers, Coran thinks, but at least there's love.

Admittedly, there's not enough love Coran has for Lance when he pushes the boy out the door on an account that everyone needs to sleep for work and school in the morning. Almost uncaring for the light rain that's coming down outside and how Lance groans about it. Keith and Bea giggle at the father's misfortune and wave goodbye.

Yes, Coran acknowledges briefly, there should always be love. Even if it keeps raining here.

 


End file.
